In the manufacture of can bodies, such as beer or soft drink cans, the open end of the can is initially necked down to a small diameter and then flanged outwardly to provide a flanged neck capable of interlocking with the can lid.
In high speed manufacturing operations, a spin flanging machine is normally used to flange the necked-down ends of the cans. The conventional spin flanging machine includes a turret which is mounted for rotation on a central drive shaft and the turret carries a series of flanging heads. Each head includes a plurality of freely rotatable flanging rollers which are adapted to engage the open end of the can to flange the same as the head is moved into engagement with the can.
During the flanging operation, the cans are supported by a star-wheel conveyor secured to the turret, and as the turret and conveyor rotate, the rotating heads are programmed to move toward the open end of the can to flange the same and to retract from the can to enable the can to be discharged from the conveyor.
Because the components of the spin flanging machine are required to provide a number of specific movements, such as rotation of the turret, rotation of the flanging heads relative to the turret, and reciprocating movement of the flanging heads relative to the turret, a complicated and costly drive mechanism has been used in the past to provide these functions.